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An 1812 Japanese art scroll called He-Gassen 屁合戦 (“The Fart Battle”) is just about people farting – all kinds of people farting at other people everywhere.

Made by an unknown artist or artists, the artwork is in fact a pointed comment on political and social changes in Japan happening at the time.

The scroll depicts a number of different scenes – all linked by the fact that at least one character is directing a debilitating blast of flatulence towards another character. This scroll and similar drawings were created in response to increasing intrusion of Europeans in Japan during the Edo period – between 1603 and 1868.

This was the era of the Tokugawa shogunate, which is characterized by a suspicion of foreigners Similar drawings were used to ridicule westerners towards the end of the Edo period, with images depicting the gaijin westerners blown away by Japanese farts.